His tafle was delicate, and refined by a careful perufal of the ancient claffics. His admiration of thofe models of fine writing, led to an imitation fo clofe, as often to preclude originality. There is little of novelty in the thoughts, the imagery, or the fentiments of Parnell. But the thoughts are just; the images, though not great, are beautiful, well felected, and happily applied; the fentiments, though not bold or impaffioned, are natural and agreeable. The moral tendency is excellent, the verfification is sweet and harmonious, and the language pure, proper, and correct. The Rife of Woman was one of his earliest productions. It is a very fine illuftration of a hint from Hefiod. The Anacreontic, When spring comes on with fresh delight, is taken from the French, but fuperior to the original. The imagery is beautiful, and the fentiments natural and pleafing. Gay Bacchus, &c. is a translation from Augurellus; but the latter part is purely Parnell's. The Fairy Tale is inconteftibly one of the finest pieces in any language. Perhaps none of his performances discover more genius. Wit and virtue, without beauty, becoming amiable in the eyes of a mistress, in preference to beauty without wit and virtue, is finely defcribed. The old dialect is not perfectly well preserved; but that is a very flight defect where all the reft is fo excellent. The Pervigilium Veneris, afcribed to Catullus, is very well tranflated. It is replete with natural and In general, all Parimpaffioned defcription, and the verfification is easy, flowing, and harmonious. nell's tranflations are excellent. Goldfinith has very properly remarked, that in the Battle of the Frogs and Mice, the Greek names have not in English their original cffect. The Epifile to Pope is one of the fineft compliments that was ever paid to any poet. The praife is high, but difcriminative and appropriate. That part of it where he deplores his being far from wit and learning, as being far from Pope, gave particular offence to his friends at home. The panegyric Swift is not exceeded by it in difcrimination of character, selection of imagery, and felicity of expreffion. The Bookworm is a tranflation from Beza, with modern applications. The tranflation of the defcription of Belinda at her toilet in the Rape of the Lock, into monkih verfe, shows what a mafter Parnell was of the Latin language. The Eclogue on Health is fimple and beautiful. The Elegy on an Old Beauty has little point or novelty, The Allegory on Man fhows a vigour of genius, and compression of thought, fuperior to what appears in most of Farnell's pieces. The Hymn to Contentment, Dr. Johnson fufpects to have been borrowed from Cleveland. The Night Picse on Death deferves every praife. It is indire &ly preferred by Goldfmith to Gray's "Elegy;" but, in Dr. Johnfon's opinion, Gray has the advantage in dignity, variety, and originality of fentiment. The fabulous characters in the Elyfum are finely defcribed, and the numbers are exquifitely harmonious. The Hermit is the most popular of his performances. The object of the poem deferves high praile for its piety and conduciveness to human happiness. It is confpicuous for beautiful defcriptive narration, The meeting with a companion, and the houfes in which they are fucceffively entertained, of the vain man, the covetous man, and the good man, are pieces of very fine painting. It may be doubted whether the means employed for correcting the two firft cha. racters were altogether adequate to the purpose intended. It is not probable that a vain man would abstain from a cuftomary gratification of his vanity merely for the lofs of an inftrument of it, to a man of his wealth fo eafily fupplied. Habitual avarice is not usually removed by unexpeЯed acquifitions. The general doctrine inculcated by the Hermit's companion is founded in the best philofophy. The story is in Hovell's Letters and More's Dialogues; and Goldfmith fuppofes it to have been originally Arabian. Among his pofthumous pieces, the Effay on the different Styles of Poetry, and the Vision of Piety, have fome paffages which deferve commendation. Few of the Scripture Pieces require particular criticifm; and fome of them have been made public with very little credit to his reputation. "Parnell appears to me," fays Goldsmith, "to be the laft of that great school that had modelled itself upon the ancients, and taught English poetry to refemble what the generality of mankind have allowed to excel. A ftudious and correct obferver of antiquity, he fet himself to confider nature with the light it lent him; and he found that the more aid he borrowed from the one, the more delightfully he refembled the other. Parnell is ever happy in the felection of his メ བྱ་ images, and fingularly careful in the choice of his fubjects. His poetical language is not lefs correct than his subjects are pleafing. He has confidered the language of poetry as the language of life, and conveys the warmest thoughts in the fimpleft expreffions." "The general character of Parnell," fays Dr. Johnson, " is, not great extent of comprehenfion, or fertility of mind; of the little that appears, ftill lefs is his own. His praise must be derived from the easy sweetness of his diction; in his verses there is more happiness than pains; he is sprightly with..ut effort, and always delights though he never ravishes; every thing is proper, yet every thing feems cafual. If there is fome appearance of elaboration in the Hermit, the narrative, as it is lefs airy, is lefs pleafing. Of his other compofitions, it is impoffible to say whether they are the productions of nature so excellent as not to want the help of art, or of art fo refined as to resemble nature. "This criticism relates only to the pieces published by Pope. Of the large appendages which I found in the laft edition, I can only fay I know not whence they came, nor have ever inquired whither they are going. They ftand upon the faith of the compilers" ? POE M S. HESIOD: OR, THE RISE OF WOMAN. ! WHAT ancient times (thofe times we fancy wife) In days of yore (no matter where or when, O vers'd in arts! whofe daring thoughts afpire, To kindle clay with never-dying fire! Enjoy thy glory past, that gift was thine; The next thy creature meets, be fairly mine: And such a gift, a vengeance so design'd, As fuits the counsel of a god to find; A pleasing bofom-cheat, a fpecious ill, Which felt the curfe, yet covets ftill tó feel. He faid, and Vulcan ftrait the Sire commands, To temper mortar with ætherial hands; In fuch a fhape to mold a rifing fair, As virgin goddesses are proud to wear; To make her eyes with diamond-water fhine, And form her organs for a voice divine. 'Twas thus the Sire ordain'd; the power obey'd; And work'd, and wonder'd at the work he made; The faireft, fofteft, fweetest frame beneath, Now made to feem, now more than seem to breathe. As Vulcan ends, the cheerful queen of charms Clafp'd the new-panting creature in her arms: VOL. VII, From that embrace a fine complexion furead, Gold fcepter'd Juno next exalts the fair; Full on the fair his beams Apollo flung, Thofe facred virgins whom the bards revere, Tun'd all her voice, and shed a sweetness there, t To make her fenfe with double charms abound, To dress the maid the decent graces brought Fair Flora lent her ftores; the purpled hours A finer flax than what they wrought before, Through time's deep cave, the filer fates explore, Then fix the loom, their fingers nimbly weave, And thus their toil prophetic fongs deceive. Flow from the rock, my flax and fwiftly flow, Purfue thy thread; the fpindle runs below. A creature fond and changing, fair and vain, The creature woman, rifes now to reign. New beauty blooms, a beauty form'd to fly; New love begins, a love produc'd'to die; New parts diftrefs the troubled fcenes of life, The fondling miftrefs, and the ruling wife. Men born to labour, all with pains provide; Yet here and there we grant a gentle bride, Thus fung the fifters, while the gods admire With wafting airs the winds obfequious blow, Or fwears that Venus' must be such as hers. cry'd, "This box thy portion, and myfelf the bride." At first the creature man was fram'd alone, When woman came, thofe ills the box confin'd Burst furious out, and poifon'd all the wind, From point to point, from pole to pole they flew, Spread as they went, and in the progrefs grew : The nymphs regretting left the mortal race, And altering nature wore a fickly face: New terms of folly rofe, new ftates of care; New plagues, to fuffer, and to pleafe, the fair! The days of whining, and of wild intrigues, Commenc'd, or finish'd, with the breach of leagues; The mean designs of well-diffembled love; The fordid matches never join'd above; Abroad the labour, and at home the noife, (Man's double fufferings for domeftic joys) The curle of jealouly; expence and strife; Divorce, the public brand of fhameful life The rival's fword; the qualm that takes the fair; Disdain for paffion, paffion in defpair These, and a thousand yet unnam'd, we find; Ah fear the thousand yet unnam'd behind¦ Thús on Parnaffus tuneful, Hefiod, fung, The fky grew bright, and (if his verse be true) Where, dark and filent, with a twisted fhade re It chanc'd one evening, 't was the lover's day, Conceal'd in brakes the jealous kindred lay; When Hefiod, wandering, mus'd along the plain, And fix'd his feat where love had fix'd the scene; A ftrong fufpicion ftrait poffefs their mind (For Poets ever were a gentle kind), But when Evanthe near the paffage ftood, Flung back a doubtful look, and fhot the wood, "Now take (at once they cry) thy due reward.” And, urg'd with erring rage, affault the bard. His corpfe the fea receiv'd. The dolphins bore ('was all the gods would do) the corpfe to fhore. Methinks I view the dead with pitying eyes, And see the dreams of ancient wifdom rife; I see the muses round the body cry, But hear a cupid loudly laughing by; He wheels his arrow with infulting hand, And thus infcribes the moral on the fand. "Here Hefiod lies: ye future bards, beware "How far your moral tales incenfe the fair. "Unlov'd, unloving, 't was his fate to bleed; "Without his quiver, Cupid caus'd the deed: "He judg'd this turn of malice justly due, "And Hefiod dy'd for joys he never knew." And thus, might I gratify both, I would do: Still an angel appear to each lover beside, But ftill be a woman to you. 3 |